Once there was a transaction where the owners were divorcing, the wife had relocated, and just the husband’s departure stood in the way of closing. The buyer continually scoped out the driveway of the house, checking out the boat in the driveway, assuming that its disappearance would signal an empty house.

The agents and attorneys tried to hurry the buyer along, but each push was returned with skepticism, scorn, or outright disbelief.Did the buyer even want to buy?

Finally, it became clear why the buyer believed there was no great rush. He laid out his logic: a boat in driveway = husband in house, so why was everyone misleading him?

The logic was flawed for one big reason (I’m sure all my non-chauvinistic readers figured it out almost immediately).The boat belonged to the wife, and as boating season hadn’t begun, leaving the boat out front was a hell of a lot cheaper than a boatyard.

When I heard about the buyer’s assumption, I responded with the title of today’s blog!